Acetylene-gas generator.



. No. 790,274 v v PATENTED MAY 23, 1905.

A W' BECK! ACETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.24,1900.

EWITNESSES INVENTOR WMA/W Y 'ATTYs.

v No. 790,274.

UNITED STATES Patented May 23, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES W. BECK, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO ELEOTROLITE GAS LAMP COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ACEIYLENE-FGAS GENERATOR.

SEEOIFICATION forming;- part of Letters Patent No. 790,274, dated May 23, 1905.

Application filed September 24, 1900. Serial No. 31,003.

.To (LZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES W. BECK, of New York, county of New York, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Acetylene-Generators, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in acetylene-generators, and refers more spe.

cifically to a generator of that-type wherein the carbid in granulated or pulverulent form is fed to a body of water in graduated quantities automatically controlled by the pressure of gas generated, the particular embodiment of the invention shown herein consisting of a portable table-lamp or lamp for domestic and analogous purposes.

Among the objects of the present invention .are to provide improvements in the details of construction and arrangement of the carbidfeeding mechanism; to so construct and arrange the operative parts thatthe expansible .bag which operates the carbid-feeding mechanism may be located at or near the bottomv carbid-feeding mechanismiin closed position,

and in general to provide a simplified and improved detail of constructioncontributing to .the economy of manufacture, efficiency of operation, and convenience of manipulation of the lamp.

To the above ends the invention consists in the-matters herein described, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims, and the same will be readily understood from the following description, reference being had 'by said members are detachably united.

upper member is provided with a meeting surmore particularly one of the catches where- 4 In said drawings, 1 designates as a whole the bowl or font portion of the generator, made globular in the present instance and supported upon any suitable hollow baseas, for example, theshet-metal base, (designated as a whole- 2,) and 3 designates as a whole the upper detachable'member of the generator, the interior of the lower portion of which is in open communication with the upper part of the font and forms in conjunction with the latter the generating space or chamber 5, while the upper portion forms the carbid chamber or receptacle 6.

In the preferred embodiment shown herein the font and upper member 3 are detachably united by means of a joint and packing of peculiar construction adapted'to form a gas-tight union between said parts, while at the same time capable of being conveniently disconnected and united. To this end the upper edge? of the lower member is thickened and provided in its upper' surface with a circumferential groove 8, adapted to contain a packingring 9, while the meeting lower edge of the face 10, adapted to rest upon the packingring, and with an external depending flange portion 11, which overlaps the inner side of the packing-ring-and serves, in conjunction with the groove 8, to hold the latter accurately in position throughout its entire circumferencel As a convenient means of holding the two members together and the packing-ring in compression between the two the lower member is provided with a plurality of upstanding rigid hooks 12, (see detail view, Fig. 2,) while the upper member is provided with correspondingly-located studs 13, adapted for engagement with said hooks, and in order to facilitate the engagement of the studs with the books the ends of the latter are inclined upwardly, as indicated at 14:, so as to act upon the studs cam fashion to force the upper member downwardly into compressed engagement with the packing-ring as said member is rotated into engagement with the hooks,

The carbid-chamber 6 is separated from the generating-chamber 5 by means of a conical or hopper-shaped partition 15, provided at its apex with a feed-aperture 16, through which works a feed-plunger 17. The feed-plunger comprises a cylindric portion 18, working through a rubber diaphragm or packing-ring 19, mounted on the lower end of the hopper concentric with the feed-aperture therein, and below this cylindric portion areduced portion 20, terminatingin a conical deflector 21. The diaphragm 19 consists of a ring of rubber having its perimeter which bears against the feed-plunger brought to a blunt edge, as indicated clearly in the drawings, and in order that the size of the opening through said diaphragm or ring may be varied or reduced from time to time to compensate for wear and maintaining a substantially gas-tight rubbing contact between said parts said ring is mounted in a cylindric cup-shaped housing 22, the lower end of which is partially closed by an annular cap 23 threaded thereon and adapted to compress the ring within the cup, and thereby reduce its internal diameter.

Describing now the mechanism whereby the feed-plunger is reciprocated to feed the car bid from the hopper to the generating-chamber, 24 designates a eylindrie chamber arranged in the lower part of the generator and provided at its upper side, at a point in axial alinement with the plunger, with a tube or upward extension 25, the upper end of which is open and terminates at a point somewhat below the lowermost position reached by the deflector 21 in its normal operation, but which serves as a stop to arrest the downward movement of the feed-plunger when it descends below the normal. Within the chamber 24 is arranged an expansible gas-bag 26, preferably made of rubber of suitable size to be capable of being expanded to substantially lill said chamber 24 and having its mouth or inlet fitted and secured around the opening in the upper side of the chamber which communicates with the extension 25 by means of a screW-plug27, threaded into the lower end of said tube 25 and the head of which is arranged to compress and hold the marginal edge of the mouth of the bag between itself and the upper wall of the chamber;

28 designates a hollow stem or extension connected at its upper end with the lower end of the feed -plunger and extending thence down through the tube 25 into the chamber 24 and through the lower side of the gas-bag. Upon the lower side of the gas-bag is arranged a rigid disk 29, preferably covering the principal area of the lower side of the bag, and with this disk the stem 28 is rigidly united by means of clamping-nuts 30 31, threaded upon said stem respectively inside and outside of the gas-bag, so as to clamp the latter and the disk 29 between them. The lower end of the hollow stem is closed by means of a screwplug 32. Inlet-openings 33 affording communieation between the interior of the stem and the gas-bag are provided in said stem adjacent to its lower end, and similar inlet-openings 34 are provided in the upper end of said stem at a point immediately below the deflector 21.

In order to force the feed-pl unger upwardly into position to carry its reduced portion 20 into register with the diaphragm 1S), and thus permit the carbid to flow from the hopper, a

.coiled extension-spring 35 is arranged within the tubular extension 25, its upperend being arranged to act upon the underside of the deflector, while its lower end engages the inner end of the plug 27. Preferably, in order to prevent the access of water from the reservoir to the gas-bag in case the lamp be shaken or partially overturned, that portion of the stem which extends through the tubular extension 25 is arranged to work through a packingtube 36, fitting closely upon the stem and having its lower end threaded into the plug 27, so as to hold it in position.

In order to lock the feed-plunger in closed position 7:. 6., in a position low enough to bring its cylindric portion 18 into register with the diaphragm 19a Vibratory lever 37 is pivoted between its ends in the lower part of the base, as at 38, one end of the lever being arranged to extend out through a suitable vertieally-disposed slot 39 in the base, while its opposite end is arranged to extend loosely through a transverse aperture 40 formed through the screw-plug 32, which engages the lower end of the feed-plunger stem. That end of the lever which extends out through the base is suitably shaped to form a handle or thumb-piece 41 whereby the lever may be manipulated, and in order to lock this end of the lever in its uppermost position a catch 42 is pivoted to its lower side, as at 43, provided at one end with a notch 44, adapted to engage the lower end of the slot 39, while its opposite end is suitably shaped to enable it to be manipulated into engagement with the slot when this end of the lever is uplifted. The catch 42 has suflicient frictional engagement with its pivot to hold it in any position of adjustment without the use of a spring or the like, so that when adjusted into the position shown in the drawings it will remain in this position and not interfere with the movementof the lever when oscillated by the alternate inflation and deflation ol the gasbag.

The gas generated in the generating-chamber passes into the carbid-chamber through a tube or inlet-pipe 45, mounted to extend vertically through the hopper-bottom and having its discharge end located near the top wall of the carbid-chamber. In order to prevent the flow of water to the carbid-clnnnber through the said inlet-pipe in case the lamp be accidentally overturned, I have provided a novel safety device (designated as a whole 46) comprising a short length of flexible waterproof tubing (preferably rubber) 47,connected at one end with the lower end of the inlet-pipe 45, so as to communicate with the latter, and provided at its opposite end with a weight 48, having an inlet-aperture 49, through which the gas may enter, said Weight serving to normally hold the tube straight and in alinement with the inlet-tube, so as to afford a free passage therethrough, but acting to fall over to one side or the other in case the lamp be overturned, so as to form an abrupt bend in the flexible tube, and thus close the passage therethrough. From the upper part of the earbidchamber the gas is admitted to a reducing or regulating valve,.(designated as a whole 50,)

which is also of novel construction and forms one feature of the present invention. As preferably constructed said valve comprises a hollowcylindric valve-body 51, provided at in;

tervals along its cylindric sides with inletapertures 52, which are preferably covered by means of a porous wrapping orfllter-cloth 53, so as to prevent access of dust or carbid to the chamber while permitting the passage of said stem is arranged to work through a diaphragm -ring 4, constructed and arranged substantially similar to that at the lower end of the carbid-hopper, as shown clearly inthe drawings. The upper portion of the valvechamber is provided with a transverse diaphragm 54, havingan aperture or gas-passage p 55 formed therein, through which isarranged to work a downwardly-tapering slide or throttle 56, having its lower end connected with the a stem of thefeed-plunger, so as to reciprocate with the latter.

As a convenient and desirable construction whereby the reducing-valve maybe supported in the upper part of the carbid-chain ber in such manner as to be readily disconnected and removed therefrom the top wall of said carbidreceptacleis provided with an opening large enough to receive the cylindric body of the valve, and the latter is provided with a reduced threaded nipple 57, over which is arranged to fit a cap 58, having its periphery turned downwardly to rest in contact and form a close joint with the top wall of the generator, as

indicated at 59, and upon said nipple is thread- 'ed the lower end of the burner in such manner asto clamp the cap 58 between its lower end and the. shoulder formed at the junction of the main body of the valve with the nipple,

thereby connecting the cap with the valve,supporting the latterwithin the hopper through The stem of the feed-plunger 17 is prolonged upwardly, so as to enter the lower 1 end of said reducing-valve, and in order to prevent the access of carbid at this point the suitable filling-apertures '61 and 62, respectively, each closed by suitable screw-plugs, as usual. v

In order that the pressure within the generator may never rise to a dangerous point, the generator is desirably provided with a safety-valve, which is conveniently located in the side wall of the generating-chamber at a point immediately below the bottom of the hopper and designated as a whole 62'. This safety-valve may be of any well-known or preferred constructionQthat shown herein consisting of a cylindric valve-body 63, seated within and extending through the side wall of the generator and having a closed inner end through which is formed a portv64. The outer end of said valve-body is closed by means of a screw-plug 65, through which is arranged to work the stem 67 of a puppetvalve 66, which is held in bearing with the port 64 by means of an expansion-spring .68 in the usual manner., Obviously the tension with'which the valve is held against its seat may be regulated by means of the screwplug 65.

The operation of the apparatus constructed as thus described is probably entirelyflob; vious to those skilled in this art, but maybe briefly described, asfollows: Assuming that the feeding mechanism is locked against movement in the manner herein described, a suitable quantityof liquid is charged into the font through the filling-aperture thereof and likewise a suitable quantity of'granulated or gas from the. granulated carbid, will be very rapid, and the gas thus generated will pass through the hollow stem downwardly into the eXpansible bag, inflating the latter and forcing its lower side, and with it the feedplunger, downwardly until the flow of carbid is arrested by the enlarged portion of thefeed-plunger being brought into register with the rubber d aphragm-ring. The gas which is thus generated 18 also free to escape up through the inlet-tube 45, where it passes over the surface of the body of carbid within the hopper and is thereby dried and thence passes intothe, lower chamber of thereducing-valve and from thelatterup through the asmuch as the expansion-spring of the feedplunger acts constantly to deflate the gas-bag,

i'valve-controlled port 55 to the burner. In,- 7

the flow of gas will be continuous, notwithstanding the generation has been arrested by the shutting off of the flow of carbid to the gencrating-chamber, until the gas-bag has been deflated sufficiently to allow the feed-plunger to rise to a point where the feeding of carbid again commences, whereupon a fresh supply of gas will reinflate the gas-bag. The control of the feed is therefore perfectly automatic and determined or controlled absolutely by the consumption of gas at the burner. By reason of the fact that the expansion-spring of the feed-plunger exerts a constantly-increasing tension as the gas-bag becomes inflated more and more the flow of gas to the burner would be correspondingly augmented if means were not provided for regulating and counteracting this increased pressure. By reason of the construction of the reducing-valve,

however, the descent of the feed-plunger as the gas-bag is inflated serves to diminish the size of the port through the reducing-valve, and if the slide 56 controlling said port be of properly-tapered form this throttling of said port will practically counterbalance the increased pressure, and therefore render the flow of gas to the burner substantially uniform regardless of the fluctuations in pressure within the generator. The operation of the safety device 46 in preventing the flow of water to the carbid-chamber in case the lamp be accidentally overturnedhas been "clearly described and need not, therefore, be repeated. It may be noted in this connection that should the lamp happen to be overturned but asmall quantity of liquid could reach the carbid around the reduced part of the feed-plunger, and this would result in inflating the gas-bag, and thus shutting off the flow of liquid to the carbid, precisely the same as though the lamp were erect, while in the event that suflicient liquid had already reached the carbid to produce an excess of pressure the safety-valve would act to relieve the same. After the lamp has been operated long enough, so that it becomes necessary to remove the residue from the font, the upper member of the generator is disconnected from the font by rotating it sufficiently to disengage its catches, whereupon the font may be emptied out and cleaned in an obvious manner.

I claim as my invention- 1. In an acetylene-generator, the combination of a water-chamber, a carbid-chamber supported above said water-chamber, an intervening space between the surface of the liquid in the water-chamber and the bottom of the carbid chamber constituting a generatingchamber, a feed-plunger working through the bottom of said carbid-chamber, a chamber located below the liquid within the water-chamber, an extension rising from said lower chamber above the level of the liquid within the water-chamber, an expansible gas-bag within said lower chamber and operative connections extending from the gas-bag up through the extension and connected with the feed-plunger.

2. In an acetylelie-generator, the combination of a water-ehamber,a carbid-chamber supported above said water-chamber, an intervening space between the surface of the liquid in the water-chamber and the bottom of the carbid-chamber constituting a generatingchamber, a feed-plunger working through the bottom of said carbid-chamber, a chamber located below the liquid within the water-chamber, an extension rising from said lower chamber above the level of the liquid within the water-chamber, an expansible gas-bag within said lower chamber and operative connections extending from the gas-bag up through the extension and connected with the feed-plunger and acarbid-deflector mounted upon the plnnger and overlying the upper end of said extension, whereby the carbid is deflected and prevented from falling within the extension.

3. In an acetylene-generator, the combination of a water-chamber, a carbid-cluimber supported above said water-chamber, an intervening space between the surface of the liquid in the water-chamber and the bottom of the carbid-chamber constituting a generating-chamber, afeed-plunger working through the bottom of said carbid-chamber having a reduced portion adapted to permit the flow of carbid through the feed-opening when brought into register with the latter, a lower chamber arranged below the liquid within the water-chamber and provided at its upper side with an extension rising above the normal level of the liquid in the water-chamber, an expansible gas-bag within said lower chamber, a hollow stem connected with the feedplunger and extending thence down through the extension and connected with the remote side of the gas-bag, gas-ports located in the upper and lower portions of the hollow stem and affording communication between the generating-space and interior of the gas-bag and a spring arranged within said extension and acting on the plunger to press itnormally upward into feeding position.

4. In an acetylene-generator, the combination of a water-chamber, a carbid-chamber supported above said water-chamber, an in tervening space between the surface of the liquid in the water-chamber and the bottom of the carbid-chamber constituting a generati ngchamber, a feed-plunger working through the bottom of said carbid-chamber having a reduced portion adapted to permit the flow of carbid through the feed-opening when brought into register with the latter, a lower chamber arranged below the liquid within the waterchamber and provided at its upper side with an extension rising above the normal level of the liquid in the water-chamber, an expansible gas-bag within said lower chamber, a hollow stem connected with the feed-plunger and extending thence down through the extension and connected with the remote side of the gas-bag, gas-ports located in the upper and lowerportions of the hollow stem and afspring arranged within said extension and acting on the. plunger to force the latter normally upward into feeding position,'and a packing arranged within said extension fittingthe hollow stem and serving in conjunction with the extension to exclude liquid from the gas-bag, substantially as described.

5. In an acetylene-generator, provided with a supporting-base, the combination with a water-chamber, a carbid-inlet above said water-chamber and a feed plunger working through said inlet, of an extension connected with said feed-plunger and extending down l through the water-chamber to the base of the generator and means for locking said plunger against vertical movement, comprising an arm extending from the lower end of said extension out through the side wall of the base and means for locking said arm against movement.

6. In an acetylene-generator provided with a supporting-base, the combination with a liquid-font supported upon said base, a carbidhopper arranged in the upper part of said generator, a generating space or chamber-between the hopper and the surface of the liquid within said font, a feed-plunger working through a feed-opening in the bottom of said hopper, an expansible gas-bag arranged within the lower part of the generator below the liquid-charn her, a stem connected with the lower end of the feed-plunger and extending thence downwardly through the liquid-font and through the expansible gas-bag and operatively con-' nected with the lower side of the latter, a spring acting .upon said feed-plunger to normally raise the latter and means for locking said feedplunger against vertical movement, comprising a lever pivotally supported in the lower part of the base below the gas-bag and having one of its ends flexibly connected with the lower end of said stem and its opposite end extended laterally out through the side wall of the base, and a catch for locking said lever against oscillation, substantially as described.

7. In an acetylene-generator of the character described, the combination with the vertically-reciprocatory feed-plunger stem having a part provided with a transverse aperture, of an oscillatory locking lever pivotally mounted between its ends and having one end engaging said transverse aperture and its opposite end constructed to form a handle and a catch connected with the handle end of said lever and adapted to engage a fixed part of the generator to lock the lever against movement,

substantially as described.

8. In combination with a portable generator, having two chambers and an inlet affording communication between said chambers,

' means forautomatically shutting 011 said com-' munication when the generator is moved out of vertical, comprising a length of flexible tubing connected to and communicating with said inlet anda weight suspended thereby,

whereby the tube is held straight and open when the generator is upright and is bent upon itself to close the passage therethrough when the generator is tilted out of vertical.

9. In combination with an acetylene-generatdr, having an upper carbid-hopper, a subjacent water-chamber and an intervening gastion of a water-chamber, a carbid-chamber above said water chamber, an intervening space between the surface of the liquid in the water-chamber and the bottom of the carbidchamber constituting a generatingmhamber, a feed-plunger working through the bottom of said carbid-chamber, a chamber located below the liquid within the water-chamber, a tubular extension rising from said lower chamber above the level of the liquid within the waterchamber, an expansible gas-bag within said lower chamber, operative connections extending from the gas-bag up through the extension and connected with the feed-plunger and a carbid-defiector mounted upon the plunger and overlying the upper end of said extension, the upper end of said extension being so located as to form a stop serving to arrest the expansion of the'gas-ba'g when it approaches complete inflation, substantially as described.

11. In an acetylene-generator, the combination' with a vertically-reciprocatory feed-plunger adapted to control the feed of pulverulent carbid, of means for locking said plunger against movement in position to close the feedger and normally moving with the latter. and

means for-locking said lever against movement.

12. In a gas-lamp, tanks or chambers for separately holding gas-generating elements, a passage from one to another, a valve between them, a collapsible gas-chamber in communication with the gas-space in said tanks, said valve being connected with said collapsible gas-chamber in such manner that when the latter is extended the passage from one tank to the other is closed and means for manually expanding said. collapsible gas-chamber, said means comprising a lever in engagement with said collapsible gas-chamber, said lever adapted to be moved thereby and a device for coacting with said lever to check its movement.

13. In a gas-generator, the combination of chambers for separately holding the gas-generating elements, a passage from one of said chambers to the other through which one generating element is fed to the other, a feedvalve controlling said passage, an expansible and collapsible gas-holder, operative connections between said holder and the feed-valve, and a reducing-valve connected to the feedvalve and operated by the movement thereof. 14. In a gas-generator, the combination of chambers for separately holding the gas-generating elements, a passage from one of said chambers to the other through which one generating element is fed to the other, a feed- Valve controlling said passage, an expansible and collapsible gas-holder, operative connections between said holder and the feed-valve, a gas-outlet from the generator, a valve for said outlet, and means for simultaneously operating the feed-valve and the outlet-valve. 15. In a gas generator or lamp the combination, of chambers for separately holding gasgenerating elements, a passage from one of said chambers to the other, a valve controlling said passage, an expansible and collapsible gas-holder in communication with the gasspace of said chambers, operative connections between the valve and said cxpansible and collapsible gas-holder, and a lever for mannally expanding the gas-holder, and for locking it in its expanded position to stop the feed.

16. In a gas generator or lamp, tanks or chambers for separately holding gas-generating elements, a passage from one to another, a valve between them, an expansiblc and collapsible gas-chamber in communication with the gas-space in said tanks said valve being connected with said expansible and collapsible gas-chamber in such manner that when the latter is expanded the passage from the one said tank to the other is closed, a spring arranged to act against the gas-pressure in the collapsible gas-chamber, and mechanism for preventing the said spring collapsing the gas-chamber, and thereby stopping the feed, said means comprising a lever in engagement with the gas-chamber and means for locking said lever against movement.

CHARLES \V. BECK. \Vitnesses:

A. H. GRAVES, J AS. R. CRAWFORD. 

